Blog

The Roman Forum – Then and Now

June 25, 2018

Years ago I bought a book called “Then and Now.” It features images and brief histories of twenty ancient sites—the ruins of great civilizations. Facing the title page for each is a full color photo of the ruin as it looks today: with an overlay showing what the site looked like in its heyday. Oh,…

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The Colosseum…and the Circus

June 5, 2018

The Colosseum is the largest amphiteater ever built—a massive oval of brickwork, tufa (a type of limestone), travertine, and concrete. At its base it covers six full acres. One of the wonders of the ancient world, it was the site of spectacles (and horrific cruelty) that are almost beyond the imagination. Over the centuries, two thirds…

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Mr. & Mrs. Penfire Start Out Early, Arrive Late

May 31, 2018

If there is one iconic structure that symbolizes Rome—and Italy—more than any other, it’s the Coliseum. Along with the Vatican and Saint Peter’s Basilica, it was at the very top of our “things to see in Rome” list. My guidebook recommended purchasing a tickets* or Roma Passes** in advance to avoid long lines. Another suggestion…

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The Pantheon

May 22, 2018

It was beginning to rain. And of course, our umbrellas were back in our hotel room. So we headed back in that direction, soon found ourselves in the Piazza della Rotonda, and noticed that the line to enter the Pantheon—endlessly long an hour earlier—was now nearly inconsequential. So we nipped inside. Because this iconic structure—built…

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Mr. & Mrs. Penfire Venture Forth

May 20, 2018

It was four in the afternoon in Rome. Yet for us, still on LA time, it was six in the morning, and we had been up all night. (At least I think that’s right. For someone who is still asking, “What time is it, really?” for several days after the clocks are moved an hour…

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Mr. & Mrs. Penfire Arrive in Rome

May 19, 2018

At Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumincio Airport, having survived our 12-hour flight, emerging from baggage claim and customs and realizing there was no driver holding up a sign with our name to welcome us, John retrieved his printout from the shuttle service he had booked. Okay, we failed to read the complete message on our confirmation…

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Mr. & Mrs. Penfire Go to Italy

May 18, 2018

We trudged off the plane in Rome after a 12-hour flight, a bit disheveled and jet lagged, shuffled dutifully through zigzag lines to get our passports stamped, emerged into the terminal on a walkway lined by faces—drivers holding signs that named the travelers they were there to meet. We searched in vain for our names,…

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Boston – Where Seabee History Inspires Optimism

September 11, 2017

If you want to place yourself in the very center of the storied arc of U. S. Naval history, go to Boston. Thursday night I was honored to attend #Seabee75, the Seabee Diamond Anniversary reception at the U.S.S. Constitution National Historic Site. Present were former Seabees of every era since the Navy’s Construction Battalions (CBs)…

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